MOG

rating 7.3 summary Gypsy strange-mongers Man Man return with more songs; less mindless shouting. That should be a good thing...right?

This two person review is by Ethan E. and Sage Turk

EE: Well, i'm honored the great William Shakespeare has asked me to help do a review.

ST: What's that supposed to mean? Oh..right...my last review. Shakespeare never wrote southern influenced short stories based on an album's titles and content..ok?

EE: Whatever...what's next? a collection of poetry? haiku?

ST: If haiku I spoke would nincompoop ethan know? a numbskull he is.

EE: stop. just stop. besides, that's more Yoda than haiku.

ST: well, you have nothing to fear...my literary purge has left a gaping hole that can only be filled by your cheetoh's powdered observations.

EE: So, today we're checking out Man Man's newest album.

ST: Which is called Rabbit Habbits - a familiar title that only solidifies my theory that Man Man are essentially Animal Collective in gypsy drag.

EE: Hmm... you may have something there. We've never seen them in the same place at the same time - they both have ridiculous stage names - Panda Bear, Critter Crat, Honus Honus, Geologist, Pow Pow, Chang Wang....i wish I were making these up...

ST: And they're both following the same general accessibility curve - early records that are almost impregnably obtuse, later albums more approachable and more interested in actual songs than just noise.

EE: ah..but then there's the difference my friend. AC's Strawberry Jam record was a folding in of themselves, a condensing of their own sound that while infinitely more concise and listenable was, still, all their own. To me, Man Man are more borrowers - stealing other genre's babies in true gypsy fashion and raising them as their own.

ST: Really, Gypsies steal babies and raise them as their own? That seems a little racist....or....what would it be.....gypsyist...

EE: Hmm..maybe i'm thinking Carnival Workers.... anyway, someone out there has had their musical baby stolen and now Man Man have dressed him up like a little russian dancer and taught him how to play the Tuba.

ST: But that's always been Man Man's appeal - wondering what they were gonna do next, because no matter the veneer of familiarity, they're pretty much guaranteed to zig when you expect a zag. And they do just that on this latest album. There's a B-52's influenced dance number "Hurly/Burly", the tribal influenced "Harpoon Fever", the wobbly electro-rock of "El Azteca", a poodle skirt wearing Doo Wop ditty - "Doo Right" and the most impressive xylophone solo of the year on "Ballad of Butter Beans". And as much as the sickly sweetness of some of those influences may make you groan, the stretched shouting/weirdness of Honus Honus adds just enough sour texture to keep things interesting.

EE: And while they certainly keep things interesting....this album made me wonder if Man Man aren't just Ween in those tall fur hats. Not that I'm complaining per se...it's just to me, in earlier records and at live shows, Man Man seemed to inhabit their own plane of weird existence...and if something crept in that sounded familiar or even tuneful it was more like a passing alien observance. To enjoy a band like Man Man, you have to believe that they know what they're doing...even if you don't. And as entertaining as this album is, it kind of grounds things a bit. The experimental stuff seems less powerful and...well....just that - experimenting. No real purpose, just messing around. That worries me. What if ALL the weird stuff in Man Man's past albums that I liked was just coincidence?

ST: I see what you are saying...and it's probably true. But I don't think when a band like Man Man starts to become more mainstream (and that term is being stretched here to its limit) and craft more "songs" it means that there isn't a Santa Claus. Some of their earlier stuff simply didn't work...and I see them here trying to stick closer to the stuff that does...and as such, we get an album that's more cohesive - which has it's obvious pros and cons. Less surprises, more consistent goodness. And here, that consistency is fun...I listen to this album as a trip through Pinocchio's Pleasure Island...full of carnivals and chaos and forbidden delights.

EE: I guess that's it...Man Man used to frighten as much as excite....now both have melted away some for a more stable listening experience.

ST: And either that's the best thing you could hope for Man Man, or the worst....you be the judge.

EE: You know what they say, "A beast without his fangs can still hump you."

ST: right. wait what?

Posted on 04/25/2008